The Parent Trap

NYT ^ | JULY 19, 2014 | Ross Douthat

[rey]

But the pattern — a “criminalization of parenthood,” in the words of The Washington Post’s Radley Balko — still looks slightly nightmarish, and there are forces at work here that we should recognize, name and resist.

[rey]

I have had the cops called on me three times for raising my voice and making a child do punishment exercises (I never hit, mostly because it has no effect on this child. I have also been told, hitting is okay, as long as there are no marks). I told the officer that I figured if he had to do punishment exercises in the academy and they could shout at him it was unlikely illegal. He agreed.

I am also entertained by people who oppose all forms of force/discipline yet are unhesitant to call in the greatest force they can; a man with a gun. Most of the officers know well I can deal with the child now or they can in a few years.

[gusty]

What all this points to is a confirmation of what Mark Steyn says over and over. The average peasant in 18th Century France had more personal freedom than an American in the 21st Century USA. King Louis XIV, XV, and XVI cared less what people did in their personal lives than our current rulers do with us. The next person who says “there aught to be a law” should be beaten with large sticks.